Ember's Birth

It was just another day....in birth paradise! Ember was born gently into her mama's hands in a warm tub of water as the witnesses, her midwife, her daddy, her grandmother , her photographer and me the doula quietly, silently, breathed in the holy aire, the sacredness of birth! It seemed God was there too. Time stood still. I was changed. Everyone was. Birth changes the world. Can you feel it? All the babies coming today, even right now, are changing you...changing us...changing me.

It was my honor to attend the birth of Ember. I attended the births of Ember's big sister and brother too. These three little ones, this family, hold a special place in my heart. Watch the video below and you'll fall in love with them too. Each and every birth I attend is so gosh darn special to me! I am so very grateful to Megan for inviting me to be her doula and grateful and humbled to be called to birthings, called to birth work.

Ember's Birth Day from Angelina Lopez on Vimeo.

Megan has had her first baby at a hospital but chose to have her last two babies at Best Start Birth Center. Michelle Kazmier was her wonderful midwife.

"Beautiful Day For A Baby!"

Stay tuned, a great movie is coming out! If you loved reading Spiritual Midwifery, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, or Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta, you will love this movie. Here is the Trailer.






Two filmmaking mothers have given birth to this beautiful film.  Sara Lamm and Mary Wigmore were inspired by the important work of world-famous midwife Ina May Gaskin and her incredible colleagues. They spent the last two and a half years juggling cameras, microphones, hard drives, preschool drop offs, nursing infants, pregnancy, editing schedules, babysitting schedules, American express bills, and vomiting four-year-olds, and as they say, "We are now ready, we are finally pushing this baby out!"
 
At the Los Angeles Film Fest Premire this movie won the AUDIENCE AWARD




If you haven't read Ina May's work go here.

If you want to purchase the movie donate $25 towards it's completion and circulation by clicking  here.

After watching this movie, if you think to yourself, like I did years ago, "Oh I wish I could have my baby on The Farm" (this is where the movie takes place and Ina May catches babies), I hope you know that there is a lovely, many lovely, qualified home birth midwives in your neighborhood. I believe you have the power to create the type of birth you desire. Heck when your baby was just a twinkle in your eye you had enough energy to create her, conceive her! With God's help you can keep that good woman power flowing. I found my Farm birth and so can you. Believe. 


God bless you, Rosie

Birth News - I'm a Grandma Again!

Yes! I am a Grandma for the second time. Matthew Vincent was born March 10, 2012 at 1:56PM. He weighed 10lbs. 11.7 oz. and was 23 1/2 inches long. He was born at Tom's River Community Medical Center aka Barnabas Health. I traveled from San Diego to New Jersey to be with my daughter a few days before our guesstimate of baby's birth day. My daughter and I walked the beaches of NJ Shore, a stones throw from her cozy home, many times during her pregnancy and even the night that her labor started. Here is a video of baby Matthew's first walk, on the beach of course! 

 

It goes without saying that the last two weeks was the best time of my life! I did miss my little booboo, grandbaby #1 and got to rendezvous with him last night. Now it's back to work at the University, work interviewing for doula jobs and doing what I can to pay for the cost of being a bi-coastal grandma. Look for a wedding blog next! My son is getting married in April! You know what that means? I get a fantastic daughter-in-law! And that baby Matthew and his parents will be coming into town! Wooohooo! God is good! Thank you Jesus (raising my arms to the sky)! My cup runneth over.

DOULA BUSINESS: I am adding some links in the Resources listed on the sidebar of this blog. I am changing my list of San Diego Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum Resources, deleting the San Diego part and making it worldwide, and more general. Many people from around the country are asking me for midwife and doula information. Our world is getting smaller and smaller with the age of internet, viral marketing, and media networking. This is so cool! One of my recent doula clients was from Wisconsin and was referred to me by a friend she grew up with in Wisconsin. This friend met my daughter in New York City a few years back and has become a close family friend to me. I have also made birthy type friends in New Jersey now (Hi Nicole and Rose Marie!). Many of the doula clients I work with are from different countries, ethnicity, and we find each other and share many common bonds, mostly birth & babies of course. But I love learning new customs, eating new foods and as I've said before Birth has a common language so no words are needed at the time of the baby's coming. The language of LOVE is universal.

Kisses on your cheeks, a deep bow, bear hugs, Eskimo kisses and butterfly kisses to you today. -Rosie

Birth News!

On December 3rd I was witness to the birth of an adorable 8 lb. 9 oz. baby boy and a new family. It was also my birthday. The laboring mama and papa sang happy birthday to me as the clock struck midnight and then together we sang happy birthday to the worlds newest member ten hours later. Dad popped the champagne and we toasted to a their son and his wonderful birth! It was the best birthday breakfast this doula has ever had! In other birth news, San Diego Moms, Doulas, Midwifes and professionals held a Rally for Change in front of Sharp Mary Birch Hospital on December 17, 2011. Here is a picture of me at the Rally playing with Mykael Richards baby girl, Miss Annalise. To read more about our human rights march you can go to to the Rally for Change on facebook.

Our goal is to bring awareness to the rising c-section rates in this country. We are asking for evidence based care that is based on scientific studies, not tradition or "doctor convenience" based care. We also ask for full informed consent for every procedure and/or drug that is suggested or offered so that patients know the full benefits and risks to make an evidenced based decision on their care. We ask that it also be explained that 40-50% of inductions do not work and that may lead to a c-section. We ask that induction drugs that are NOT FDA approved for women and pregnancy stop being used as it increased the risk of maternal death and infant heart abnormalities and brain damage. We ask that policies be changed to reflect scientific studies on the following: 1. Allowing mothers to labor at home as long as possible 2. Allowing labor to start on it's own within 24 hrs of water rupturing as long as mother and baby are within normal range 3. Allowing mothers to eat and drink during labor 4. Allowing intermittent monitoring of fetal heart tones 5. Allowing mobility during labor 6. Allowing different pushing positions(birth stools, squatting, standing) other than on the patients back 7. Allowing delayed cord clamping until cord has finished pulsating 8. Allowing skin to skin contact for the first two hours after birth or until the first breastfeeding Evidence DOES NOT support elective c-sections or elective inductions. Evidence supports that mothers are not postdate until 42 weeks and induction should not be forced upon mothers before that time as long as mother and baby are within normal range. VBACs(Vaginal Births After Caesareans) should be accepted and fully supported as evidence for rupture is minimal. VBACS should be the standard.

Doula Dawn Thompson headed up the Rally and will be continuing in this effort with a soon to be up webpage and national and global initiative.  Stay tuned!

The next noteworthy item is that CNN Hero of the Year 2011 winner is Midwife, Robin Lim! If you haven't met Robin please click on this link and see her accept her award. Also look around at all the CNN Hero's. There are many amazing nominees which makes Robin's achievement that much more noteworthy. As Robin is quoted saying,

"Every baby's first breath on Earth could be one of peace and love. Every mother should be healthy and strong. Every birth could be safe and loving. But our world is not there yet."

Model Christy Turlington Burns writes about her visit to Robin's clinic in Indonesia in this Huffington Post story, My hero, Ibu Robin Lim. Robin's award makes me hopeful that mothers in my town, my country and my world will be safer during birth, be treated with more dignity and respect and that birth will be treated like a Human Rights issue that it is.

Now my most favorite midwife in the whole world (and I love many) is Ina May Gaskin and I saved the best for last as far as noteworthy birth news! The Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called a alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize, is awarded for outstanding vision and work on behalf of our planet and its people. This year Ina May Gaskin was one of the four Laureates! You can read about the other winners at The Right Livelihood Award webpage and you can watch Ina May's acceptance speech here.

“… for her whole-life’s work teaching and advocating safe, woman-centred childbirth methods that best promote the physical and mental health of mother and child.“

Bravo Ina May! And as Ina May would say, Bravo to all the men, women and mothers of the world who fight to birth their baby's in safety and peace and help their sisters, daughters, neighbors birth their babies into a better world.

Quotation ”A society that places a low value on its mothers and the process of birth will suffer an array of negative repercussions for doing so. Good beginnings make a positive difference in the world, so it is worth our while to provide the best possible care for mothers and babies throughout this extraordinarily influential part of life.” Ina May Gaskin

Reducing Infant Mortality

Please pass on the video linked above. We are so fortunate to have this film for FREE. Watch through to the Solutions...Answers...pay dirt...the golden ticket.

I don't apologize if you already saw this on my facebook. YOU did watch it there....didn't you?

This is an important message for the people of the world today. "...Looking to improve length of gestation"...hmmm thats some goal, seeing as so many docs (and moms) want to induce!!! To save the babies (and a huge wade of $$$) women - all women - need access to prenatal care. This could be accomplished by using midwifes - duh! instead of surgeons (OBGYN). Someone once told me that using a OBGYN for normal pre-natal, birth and postpartum is like hiring a college professor to babysit your kid/s.

On a side note, somewhat related, I am currently reading American Midwives 1860 to the Present by Judy Barrett Litoff. It's amazing..."Midwifery has been the almost exclusive province of women throughout history....Several references to the work of midwives can be found in the Bible...The writings of classical Greek and Roman physicians, such a Hippocrates, Galen, and Celsus, provide further information about the regularity with which the midwife served as the attendant at birth. Midwifes also played a central role in the birth process in colonial America. 1663 was the first time on record that a man attended a normal birth. By 1760 the concept of male midwifery was accepted by English upper classes.

The principal argument made by the male-midwifery opponents was that the presence of a man in the lying-in chamber offended the sense of modesty and delicacy of the parturent woman. Thomas Ewell, one of the leading American physicians opposed to the male midwifery, insisted that the male presence so greatly offended the woman in the midst of labor that her contractions often completely subsided...." Ewww, Chapter 2 talks about Obstetric Specialization. "normal ovariotomy was invented in 1872 and was done for such things as neurosis, insantiy, abnormal menstruation, and practically anthing untoward in female behavior." Clitoridectomy was practiced in this country from 1867 until 1904 or perhaps as late as 1925! ...more review to follow.

So I ask, How did we get to this place in time? And better yet, where are we going? i.e., How would you like to see your grandchildren being born and your daughters treated? For the sake of safety and respect I hope mine are in the hands of a good homebirth midwife. If you're having a baby someday, or even if you've already had your babies give your local midwife a call and have a face-to-face meeting with her. How else will you know her? You'll be glad you did ~ really glad.

CHANGING THE WORLD ONE BIRTH AT A TIME!

1. Doula for first, not for second baby: I was doula for a lovely women a couple of years ago. After a unmedicated 30+ hour labor she had her baby by cesarean section. It was tramatic for her. After healing and prayings she became pregnant again and last week had a HBAC (home birth after cesarean) with a midwife present. This baby was bigger than last baby and was born into the warm birth pool after only eight hours of labor. Ahhhhhh. I was not present. Birth is private, sacred and needs to be respected. Mom walked a new path with new hope and realized her dream.
2. Doula for fourth and fifth baby: Thanksgiving weekend I attended the birth of Michael. I'd been with his mom when his big brother was born 4 years ago. 4 years ago moms labor was so short I almost caught the baby! Thank God she lived 2 minutes from the hospital. Mom realized during the last birth how much she liked being immersed in water so this time we would be driving farther to see midwifes and labor in water. Early morning PROM, premature rupture of membranes (slow amniotic leak with no contractions) had us spending the day/night/morning doing lots of walking and talking but no active labor. Birth Center sent us down to regular Labor and Delivery for pitocin augmentation/induction after 24 hours. Six hours later baby was born. The L&D nurse said this was the first unmedicated birth she's seen in a long long time. The midwifes were great but "it's a hospital birth center" after all so mom did not get to labor in water as she'd wished. I was told they couldn't even recommend nipple stimulation since that would require mom to be continually monitored! Mom's could do it of course, but the nurses could not prescribe it. We found out that a few years ago docs would wait 48 hours after waters released before induction, then the rules changed to 36 hours and now they only wait 24 hours! No homeopathic remedies allowed (with knowledge) and not too many "patients" opt to go home. Some do.

I'm reminded that each one is different each one is special and each time we helpers need to stay alert to what type of work is being done by mom. Did she do pregnancy preparation (emotional, physical, spiritual, etc.), what's her pregnancy history, who was the pre-pregnant woman, relationships, her own birth, her moms & sisters births, birth preparation, choices...women have a choice to go into the "baby bubble" before birth and prepare themselves and their baby. Even when the world seems to be falling down around your feet. I know. I did. but that's another story. You have a thousand other choices daily. Listen to your inner voice.

Y Precious new baby Michael Y

Look at the structure of your birth community and make plans for spreading the word within it. Put flyers in the library and birth bookmarks in library books. Canvas your community with ideas and work with others. Pick up the awe and miracle of instinctive birth. Let others feel this through your heart and see it through your eyes. Revel in the glory of a baby flowing in health and happiness out of the mother’s body and into her waiting arms. Bask in a new life coming to the planet in love and in a woman’s own time, held joyfully, without disturbance, chatter or other more severe intervention. Let others see and feel the miracle—the deep spirituality—through your soul. -JAN TRITTEN

Homebirth in San Diego...Homework

I recently had the challenge of finding an available homebirth midwife for a mommy due next month, in December. Many midwifes are booked full or on holiday: Brooke Ray, Jamin Sylvada, La Shel Montgomery and Gerri Ryan and Michelle Freund . By the way all of these website links are worth reading thoroughly! But fortunately Andrea Meyers and Sara Davis are available to meet with mom. After finding out that some of my old lists have wrong numbers and some midwives have moved and there are some awesome new midwifes in town I decided I need to revise my "Midwives With Home Birth Practices in San Diego County" list. I'll be working on this along with how many places are there to rent birth tubs and how much does it cost? It has been so many years since I planned my own home birth it was even before I met Barbara Harper, Waterbirth International! So I didn't even know about water birth back then - 24 years ago!

You might be wondering why, me being a doula and all, I do not have all the most current information at hand. To be completely honest (always), I believe that it is the pregnant family's responsibility to select their care provider. I happen to know and love a few special midwifes. I have taken midwifery apprentice workshops. I have watched midwifes be born, hatched from Doula to Licensed Midwife (CD, LM) with great joy and admiration. I will recommend a midwife if asked. But most of the time when a family is meeting with me to consider my doula services they already have a care provider. I respect the family's decision. It's when mom is unhappy with her care, finds out the provider's saying one thing and doing another, mom has had a change of heart (and all of us women have every right to change our minds ;)...that I will encourage mom to sit with her true feelings, bravely seek out her deepest desire, investigate the options. ...That brings me to my homework...

It does take some WORK and planning to prepare for your home birth, buying supplies, eating right, praying and meditating...isn't that what we do everyday anyway? Hmmmm well that's about it! Then there is the WORK of Labour and the intimate, hungry, up and down days of postpartum recovery - WORK. The WORK of parenting of course and most importantly the WORK of partnering with the other half of the adults in the family : ) and loving them completely, utterly, totally. (Okay, that part is sounding too fun!!! But isn't that what got the baby in there?) Like my grandma said, BUSY hands make a happy heart :) and speaking for myself an old crone, with an empty nest, the WORK is so worth it! The satisfaction is great; the fulfillment that comes from the WORK of mothering, and partnering is undeniably earth shaking stuff! It is heartening, enriching, exciting, scary...Be brave young women, young mothers; the drama is over all too soon. The tide of your life will have ebbs and flows. From time to time take a step back from the middle of the swirling waters and watch it from afar. It is a beautiful life. Artistic. Mysterious. A Masterpiece.

Keep a look out for my completed cheat sheet of 'Homebirthin in San Diego' coming soon...

P.S. Do you know how hard it is for a midwife to say "I'm going on vacation" or "I can't take anymore clients"? Really hard. They are so dedicated to their WORK, to families, mommies and the babies!T hank you baby catchers for taking your much needed family time, breaks, and retreats!

My cup runneth over, Rosie

See this News 10 special featuring my friend and midwife Hope Renn

http://www.10news.com/video/11118921/index.html